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Too little, too late Redskins salvage pride with 20-3 win against Cards
Updated: Sunday December 24, 2000 6:13 PM
LANDOVER, Md. (AP) -- The Washington Redskins' blowout victory came too late to save their season. Terry Robiskie hopes it didn't come too late to save his job. The Redskins finally combined imagination, talent and a degree of spirited play worthy of a playoff-caliber team Sunday. They beat up a bad team early and went on to a 20-3 victory against the Arizona Cardinals, although the win was little consolation for a season that began with a $100 million roster and thoughts of a Super Bowl. "The 2000 Washington Redskins weren't supposed to be 8-8," fullback Larry Centers said. "If I make it to 60 years old, sitting in my rocking chair, I'll think about year 2000 and how I let a great opportunity slip away." The Redskins, once 6-2, avoided a losing season and gave interim head coach Robiskie his first NFL victory and some faint hope that he can return. His inspiration: Arizona head coach Dave McGinnis, who took over at midseason and last week signed a four-year contract with the Cardinals (3-13). "I want the job. I've applied for it. I'd love to get it," Robiskie said. "I'm sitting here and my record is 1-2, and a great friend of mine across the hall, Dave McGinnis, is 1-8 since he took over. The Cardinals saw it in him to give him an opportunity to go on. I'd rather be 1-2 than 1-8." The Cardinals are already in next-year mode. Their hopes essentially ended when Rob Moore, Coby Rinehart and J.J. McCleskey were injured in August. They went 0-8 on the road and finished with the franchise's worst record since the Chicago Cardinals went 2-10 in 1959. "It's going to be a work in progress," McGinnis said. "I don't want any more afternoons like this. I'm tired of standing up here and explaining why we don't win football games. And that's not what I'm about." McGinnis' enthusiasm may be the only thing that keeps free agents Simeon Rice and Aeneas Williams from bolting at the end of the season. Rice had a sack and Williams had two interceptions Sunday, and both remained noncommittal afterward. "We've got some things to talk about," Rice said. "I definitely want to go to a Super Bowl. I'd like to do some things here. I love Dave. If we get some core players here, there could be a future. We'll see how it goes." The Redskins have several veterans who might retire or go elsewhere. One who is definitely on the way out is pending free agent Brad Johnson, who completed 18 of 31 passes for 192 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions in his final start in Washington. Robiskie went deep into the playbook in his last-ditch coaching audition bid. He used 38-yard-old receiver Irving Fryar and cornerback Champ Bailey as running backs, gave rookie guard Mookie Moore his first career start and let kickoff specialist Scott Bentley try a field goal. Fryar went up the middle for 15 yards on the third play of the game, Bailey scored his first offensive touchdown with a 7-yard run that ended with a two-handed dive at the pylon, and Bentley's 50-yarder was the longest made by any Redskins kicker in 27 games. Bailey also played receiver and returned punts as well as his usual cornerback. He caught two passes for 54 yards and had an interception in the end zone in the fourth quarter. Stephen Davis rushed for 120 yards on 27 carries. The Cardinals five turnovers decided the game. On Arizona's first play, Michael Pittman lost a fumble, and Jake Plummer threw three interceptions, all deep in Redskins territory. Meanwhile, the Redskins scored on their first four possessions and outgained the Cardinals 315-245, but that disparity was less than it was in the first game between these two teams in early November. The Redskins had a 422-178 advantage in that game, but lost 16-15 in McGinnis' only victory. Notes: Washington's Bruce Smith got his 10th sack of the season -- and forced a fumble on the play -- to set an NFL record for most 10-sack seasons with 13. ... Washington tackle Chris Samuels jammed his neck in the second quarter and did not return. ... Alexander injured his ankle in the second quarter, returned before halftime, then reinjured it in the third quarter and did not return. ... The Redskins set their NFL season record for home attendance. The announced crowd was 65,711, making the season total 647,424, surpassing the 634,204 mark by the 1980 Detroit Lions. ... Plummer had the wind knocked out of him for one play in the first quarter and sat out one play.
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